This invention is an improvement on my inflatable rescue and safety apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,804 B1, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
According to the prior art publication of PCT/CH99/00619 the object, of the device disclosed is to provide raft having a greater surface area for personnel, at the sea, wherein an ordinary boat operates and permits someone stuck beneath the device, when it inflates, to move onto the device and to stay there by means of releasable spreadable and re-lockable openings that permit shipwrecked persons to grasp the netting in order to rejoin one of the openings. It also allows survivors, if required, to hold on by hands and feet using handles and safety belts. However, survivors are neither protected from the weather and exposure in a cold sea, waves that can pass through the netting, and exposure to the sun, should the raft be disposed upside-down, shipwrecked persons will not have access to the handles and safety belts.
According to the prior art patent document DE 3210 590 A1, a device is disclosed for use in open water, which is a multiple-person buoy without netting, the tarpaulins of which cover a certain number of openings, and do not form a floor on all the surface. Shelters are provided, but they are located on certain units, they are fixed and they do not communicate with each other but form multiple spaces.
Children can slide into the openings, survivors can encounter waves, water can stagnate in the tarpaulins and form pockets there, and when survivors are in the shelter, an imbalance will be created and the multiple buoy will be returned. This situation can get worse when units are coupled in a rough sea, because nothing assures that shelters are arranged head-to-tail in order to balance loads. On the contrary, in the panic condition, unfortunately, it is impossible to perform such operation, and many persons will likely be exposed to water and the weather conditions.
Rescue boats and rafts that are currently available in the market provide only a small surface area, with capacity for a limited number of persons on board. Moreover, aircraft slides and toboggans require skillful folding with a link system in the form of snap fasteners so that they are opened in the correct orientations.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an inflatable rescue and safety flotation device that is able to overcome these drawbacks.